Direction complement "-qilai"

起来 (qǐlái) comes up very frequently in Chinese and can be used both literally and figuratively. This is a little like the usage of "up" in English which can be used literally, as in "stand up," or figuratively, as in "add up."

Expressing an upward movement

起来 can be used to express an upward movement like "up", as in the English examples of "stand up" or "pick up."

• 请 大家 站 起来 。Qǐng dàjiā zhàn qǐlái. Please stand up.
• 快 把 地上 的 书 捡 起来。Kuài diǎn bǎ shū jiǎn qǐlái. Quickly pick up the books on the floor.
• 你 怎么 不 把 老人 扶 起来。 Why didn't you keep the old man upright?
• 别 动！把 手 举 起来。Don't move! Put your hands up.
• 他 吓 得 头发 都 竖 起来了。He was so scared that his hair stood up.

Expressing an initial judgement

起来 can also be used to express a preliminary judgement. 起来 is used here to express that the speaker has only just initiated an action, and based on that, has made a quick judgement. It is used in the following structure:

Structure

Subj. + Verb + 起来 + Adj.

This expresses that the subject seems adjective when the action of the verb is performed. This structure is frequently used with perception verbs such as 看, 听, 尝 etc.

Examples

• 他 看 起来 很 友好。Tā kàn qǐlái hěn yǒuhǎo.He looks very friendly.
• 这 件 事情 听 起来 有点 复杂。Zhè jiàn shìqing tīng qǐlái yǒudiǎn fùzá.This matter sounds a little bit complex.
• 你 点 的 菜 尝 起来 不错。Nǐ diǎn de cài cháng qǐlái bùcuò.The dishes that you ordered tastes good .
• 这 件 衣服 摸 起来 很 舒服。Zhè jiàn yīfu mō qǐlái hěn shūfu.These clothes feel very comfortable.